Supreme Court orders review of Black inmate's jury bias case

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor of a Black Mississippi death row inmate, Terry Pitchford, who argued his conviction was tainted by racial bias in jury selection. The justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 decision, ordering further review of his claims.

Pitchford, now 40, was sentenced to death for his role in the 2004 killing of grocery store owner Reuben Britt during a robbery outside Grenada, Mississippi. Pitchford was 18 at the time; his accomplice, who was under 18 and fired the fatal shots, was ineligible for the death penalty. Pitchford's case has been moving through the courts for two decades.

The central issue before the Supreme Court was whether Pitchford's trial lawyers did enough to object to the presiding judge's rulings during jury selection and whether the Mississippi Supreme Court acted reasonably in concluding they had not. During the trial, then-prosecutor Doug Evans, who has since retired, used peremptory challenges to excuse four Black potential jurors. Only one Black juror ultimately served.

The legal standard stems from the 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits excluding jurors because of their race and establishes a...